Carol Ann Duffy

Many war photographers claim that they are capturing something which might not be seen by the public otherwise. They risk their lives so that we see what is really happening in the world.

Or do they?

Is it right that they can sit by and photograph as people are killed in front of them?

“War Photographer” by Carol Ann DuffyThe poem comes from Duffy’s friendship with two photographers who specialised in war photography. Duffy is fascinated by what makes someone do such a job and how they feel about being in situations where a choice often has to be made between recording horrific events, and helping.

F – Form. What do you notice about the structure of the poem. Is there a regular or irregular structure. Think about how many lines there are per stanza and the length of lines.

L – Language. Think about word choice, alliteration, onomatopoeia. What stands out? Why has it been used?

I – Imagery. Similes and metaphors. What are they suggesting?

R – Rhythm and rhyme. Are there rhymes or half-rhymes? Is there a regular rhyme scheme?

T – Title and theme. What is important about the title/why has it been chosen? What are the themes?

War Photographer – The basic factsWho? – An unknown male war

photographer, What? – The photographer has returned

home from a war torn country to develop the images he as taken. In his darkroom he struggles to adjust to life back in England. After taking the photographers to his editor, he is on an aeroplane heading for a new war torn country.

War Photographer – The basic factsWhere? – Back home in the English

countryside.When? –Late 1970s, early 1980s. Present

tense is used to show this is happening all the time.

Why? - Criticism of the way we look at pictures of suffering, but do not know the reality. We can’t relate to it because it’s so different from our lives.

Form

Form - the structure and layout of the poem

The form is quite traditional - 6 line stanzas, with one exception, are made up of 10 or 12 syllable lines and have a regular abbcdd rhyme scheme.

FormThe form is often used to reflect

emotions or thoughts.

• This structured form mirrors the way the photographer is trying to control his feelings.

Poem is circular - starts with him coming home and ends with him leaving again.

Shows nothing changes.

Form

Stanza OneWhat person is the poem written in?

3rd person omniscient narrator

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

idea of evil, darkness

The use of the word “finally” suggests that he’s been through a lot recently and he is somewhat glad to be alone now.

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

Sibilance – alliteration of ‘s’ sound to emphasise the words.

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

use of metaphor: The film is described as containing the suffering of people.

‘ordered rows’ tries to make us think of graves and shows how many people have died.

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

Literal meaning: colour of light bulb

Connotations: blood, danger, anger, hate, fire, rage, fury,

"a priest preparing to intone a mass" suggests imagery of a funeral- reminds us of death/seriousness/importance

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

Shows how short life is.

This list is of places where life is even shorter than normal, because of conflict.

We are about as important as blades of grass, and can be trampled on.

We’re all the same

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this is a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Phenh. All flesh is grass.

ContrastThere is an effective contrast in the poem

between what was happening in the places where the photographer has been and what is happening back home now

War Zones England

'Fields... explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat'

'Ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel'

ContrastMakes us aware of the difference

between our lives and those of the people in the photographs.

It tries to make us feel a bit guilty for complaining and appreciate what we have.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don’t explode beneath the feetof running children in the nightmare heat.

Sibilance

Literal Meaning –photography fluid

Metaphorically - "solutions" suggests that the photos may be the answer to stopping the war.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don’t explode beneath the feetof running children in the nightmare heat.

The photographer himself is disturbed by the images he is developing

When doing the "job", the photographer feels nothing; he is simply earning a living. But looking at the photos at home, he is filled with emotion.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don’t explode beneath the feetof running children in the nightmare heat.

A negative impression of British people.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don’t explode beneath the feetof running children in the nightmare heat.

The image is shocking, because of land mines exploding under "the feet of running children".

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don’t explode beneath the feetof running children in the nightmare heat.

Literally – the heat in some of the countries he visits is too much

Metaphorically - “nightmare” – he is struggling to deal with what he has seen.

Something is happening. A stranger’s featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

What "is happening" in the third stanza is that an image is gradually appearing as a photo develops.

Something is happening. A stranger’s featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

All of a sudden, the image on the photo appears. Implies it is the picture of someone who has now died and he is being haunted by the image/memory.

Something is happening. A stranger’s featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

He is not able to ask for permission to take the picture but he believes it’s right to do and implies she believes it too

Something is happening. A stranger’s featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

The blood is “stained” into his memory, he can’t get rid of what he has seen.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

"In black and white" is ambiguous: it suggests the colour of the photos but also the contrast of good and evil.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

Contrast between the “agonies” and the way the editor picks out photos.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

The readers ‘do not care'.  Their eyes ‘prick with tears', but only briefly.  Their real concerns are their own lives.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

"The bath" and "Pre-lunch beers" are luxuries. Contrast with the suffering people in the war.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

Pictures are only to "supplement" a Sunday paper. They have lost importance.

Photographer remains unattached as he travels to his next "job". The reader’s don’t care what he has to go through.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

Duffy creates some powerful and disturbing images in this poem. Four in particular stand out:

'fields which don't explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat.'

'how the blood stained into foreign dust.' 'a hundred agonies in black-and-white.' 'The reader's eyeballs prick with tears

between the bath and pre-lunch beers.'

Point

It can be difficult for us to relate to suffering in faraway countries and so to make us feel angry and guilty about it Duffy has to use some disturbing and powerful images, images we would rather not think

about, or really see. She says we live by...

Evidence

'Fields which don't explode beneath the feet Of running children in a nightmare heat.

Analysis

This image is effective because we would normally think of 'running children' in 'fields' as an image of

fun.

We also associate children with innocence, and the idea of them being hurt brings out our protective

instincts.

Duffy does not tell us what these children are running from, some kind of 'nightmare heat', leaving it up to

us to imagine our worst fears.

In effect, this image is what happened before the images we have all seen on our TV's of children badly burnt, without legs or arms. We know while they are

'running' what will happen to them.As you can see, the analysis is the most important and therefore longest part of the answer.

Question:

“Choose a poem which creates an atmosphere of despair. Show how the poet, by their use of ideas and techniques, leaves you with a pessimistic feeling about life.”

In the exam you get marks for what you say about quotes, for your analysis of them.

It is highly recommended that you have a go at analysing each of the remaining three quotes, as this is an active way of both revising this poem and practising the skills you need for your exam essays.

'how the blood stained into foreign dust.' 'a hundred agonies in black-and-white.' 'The reader's eyeballs prick with tears

between the bath and pre-lunch beers.'

Subject

Duffy's poem is about how we deal with the suffering of others, who might be faraway. It takes the character of a war photographer to represent

someone more involved and committed than we are.

Attitude

Duffy appears to admire the photographer, and be critical of the rest of us.

The poem is powerfully anti-war. However, elsewhere Duffy does not spell out her feelings,

she allows readers to make their own judgements.

The form however suggests she is pessimistic about things changing for the

better.

Style

Duffy uses the symbolic association of ordinary language. So that a simple word like

'dust' can carry lots of possible meaning.

She also includes some powerful imagery to shock us out of our complacency.

The use of a repetitive form suitably supports the ideas in the poem.

Essay Questions.

Choose a poem which makes you think more deeply about some aspect of life. State what aspect of life the poem deals with and show how the techniques used have deepened your understanding. (SQA Int. 2 2001).

Choose a poem which has increased your understanding of any aspect of life in the modern world. Show what aspect of life in the modern world the poem illustrates and go on to show how the poem, both by its content and style, increased your understanding. (SQA Int. 2 SQP 2003)

Choose a poem in which you find the ending particularly interesting or surprising or satisfying. By considering the whole poem say why you think the ending is effective. (SQA Int. 2. 2003)

Choose a poem which deals with an imaginary or real person or place. Show how the person or place is introduced and how the techniques used give a convincing portrayal of that person or place. (SQA Int. 2 2004)

Choose a poem which creates an atmosphere of fear, mystery, celebration or sadness. Show how the poet builds up this atmosphere and show how it heightens your appreciation of the poem. (SQA Int. 2 2002).

Choose a poem which creates an atmosphere of fear, mystery, celebration or sadness. Show how the poet builds up this atmosphere and show how it heightens your appreciation of the poem.

The first part of a question will suggest one of the following aspects from a prose/drama/poetry text that you have studied. theme, character, setting, central concern, key incident or scene

Answers to questions on poetry should address the central concern/themes) of the text and be supported by reference to appropriate poetic techniques such as :

imagery, verse form, structure, mood, tone, sound, rhythm, characterisation, contrast, setting, symbolism, word choice.

Choose a poem which creates an atmosphere of fear, mystery, celebration or sadness.

War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy creates a fearful atmosphere throughout each of the stanzas.

Show how the poet builds up this atmosphere and show how it heightens your appreciation of the poem.

This sense of fear is created through Duffy’s use of word choice and imagery. These techniques are used effectively to allow the reader to gain a better understanding of the fear the poet is demonstrating.

Basic plan.

Introduction. TART – Title, author, reference to question, techniques.

How the atmosphere is created in each of the stanzas. With poetic techniques, evidence and analysis.

Conclusion.

Basic Success Criteria for: Introductions and OpeningsI have used TART in my opening sentence?

The title of the poem is written correctly using capital letters and inverted commas.

The introduction uses words from the question.

A brief summary of the text is included.

I have mentioned the key topics of the task.

I have given some indication of the content of my essay.

“War Photographer” by Carol Ann Duffy creates a fearful atmosphere throughout each of the stanzas. Through the character of the photographer we see the fear he, and others, face daily whilst society does not seem to care. An atmosphere of fear is created successfully through Duffy’s use of word choice and imagery. These techniques are used effectively to allow the reader to gain a better understanding of the fear the poet is demonstrating.

Choose a short story in which a character copes with social or family or relationship difficulties. Describe briefly the difficulties and explain how the author aroused your sympathy for the character’s situation.